Boston College Sophomore Forward Named Hockey East Player of the Year Finalist
Boston College men’s hockey sophomore forward James Hagens has been named a 2026 Hockey East Player of the Year finalist, the league announced Monday afternoon.
Hagens would become the 16th Eagle to pick up the honor since it was first awarded, in 1984-85, and the second player from BC to receive the title in the past 365 days — last season, former Eagles forward Ryan Leonard was named the Hockey East Player of the Year.
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— Hockey East (@hockey_east) March 16, 2026
Announcing the 3⃣ finalists for Hockey East Player of the Year!@BC_MHockey // @UMassHockey // @TerrierHockey pic.twitter.com/rET0Hl8XQB
The other finalists for the award are Boston University defenseman Cole Hustson and UMass goaltender Michael Hrabal. There have been 12 total goalies who have won the award in the past, followed by 12 left wingers, seven centers, seven right wingers, and six defenseman.
BC has the most total winners of any program with 15, followed by New Hampshire (8), Boston University (6), Maine (6), Northeastern (4), UMass (2), UMass Lowell (2), and Providence (1).
At the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season, Hagens led Hockey East in points in league play with 28 (13 goals and 15 assists). His 45 total points (23 goals, 22 assists) ranks No. 7 nationally and first in Hockey East as well.
With 32 points on 10 goals and 22 assists, Hutson finished his second campaign at BU as the Terriers’ points leader, which is an outstanding feat for a defenseman.
Hutson also generated the most shots on the team (148), the highest plus-minus rating (+13), the most game-winning goals (4), the most overtime goals (2), and the second-most shots blocked (41).
Hrabal, meanwhile, ranks second among goaltenders nationally in save percentage (.936), and fourth in goals against average (1.984) — both of which lead Hockey East.
On Friday, the fourth-seeded Eagles (20-14-1, 13-11-0 Hockey East) will face third-seed UConn (19-11-5, 12-9-3) in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the winner of the game will move on to play either second-seed UMass or eighth-seed Merrimack on Saturday in the Hockey East Tournament Championship.
BC advanced to the semifinals by defeating Maine, 5-0, in the quarterfinals this past Friday at Conte Forum.
The only way for the Eagles to advance to the 2026 NCAA Tournament this year is by winning out the rest of the tournament, as BC’s NPI ranking of No. 17 will not get it selected for a regional with an at-large bid.
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Graham Dietz is a 2025 graduate of Boston College and subsequently joined Boston College On SI. He previously served as an editor for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, from fall 2021, including as Sports Editor from 2022-23. Graham works for The Boston Globe as a sports correspondent, covering high school football, girls' basketball, and baseball. He was also a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2023.
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